Chi-Hua-Hua

I'm going to northern Los Angeles county tomorrow to pick up my new dog!

I am so excited!

I'm going to name him P'Headro. (That's the only way I could think of having Pedro pronounced in the correct Napoleon Dynamite manner.)

Here he is with his mom, Lady, and siblings. My husband took this photo on his iPhone when the litter was about 5 days old. I haven't seen them since. (They stopped in on their move from Washington state to northern Los Angeles county.)

Here is a picture of P'Headro with my friend taken on her daughter's iPhone - isn't technology grand? My friend would probably kill me if she knew I was posting this picture, but I really just wanted you to see my newest little bundle of joy! He is the one on the left with the Dobie markings (my friend's right).

I am sure I am absolutely crazy to take on the challenge of raising a chihuahua puppy, but that's what I am. Actually, it's part of my name. Crazy.

[As for the Coens part, Dandu and Toothy got me The Coen Brothers Movie Collection for Christmas, including Blood Simple (I watched it today for the first time - good movie!), Raising Arizona (sound somewhat familiar?), Fargo, Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, which coincidentally used to be my above friend's favorite movie {and her husband's nickname for her is Sunny - hummmmmm}.]

Aren't the holidays grand?

Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad from mi casa to su casa.

(Enjoy my recycled photo.)

Went for a Walk Today

The canal/flume I walk along.

The view to the west on my walk along the canal/flume.

The husband took Joe-Ash for a blood test and shopping down the hill.

I stayed home and took a walk and sewed napkins for Christmas presents.

They came back in a foul mood, and I felt bad that I had just stayed home and taken a walk. I should have been the one to take Joe-Ash and come back in a foul mood.

So I tried going to the grocery store at 5 p.m. to atone for my sins, but the parking lot was a mess and I lost my temper and started yelling in my car. I came home.

I am going to go grocery shopping tomorrow at 6 a.m. I'll let you know how that goes. Wink wink.

I Should Be....

This photo belongs to the LA Times and was taken by Mark Boster. It's on their home page. I really really like it and wanted to share it. It's my kind of photo.

Have a great day!

Winter Solstice

Here's a picture I did not take

of the winter sun

- 2 minute exposure, I believe.

Here's a link about the Winter Solstice.

(You can also find a link to Brittany Murphy there - not very informative, though).

It's been a short day and a long night.

I am still not done with Christmas shopping. I am not really a fan of Christmas - I may have mentioned, but I will again, that a few summers ago I threw out all my Christmas stuff - I think I even tossed the Christmas stocking that my long gone (1988) mother knitted for me a million years ago. Can't find it anywhere :-(

So I start over with a white Christmas tree,

a Barbie and

a new holiday candy tradition.

Have a lovely long winter's night.

Great love.

School's Out for Two Weeks!

Isn't that nice?

After 3 bell choir performances (I suck, by the way - but did look truly festive in my Santa Hat, red jacket and Starbucks deer pinned to my chest - no photos survived, sorry), one get together, one party and one Messiah performance (not at school), I am ready to get ready for Christmas at home with the fam.

BTW - The rocky road candy turned out well enough for gifting - here are a couple of guys ready to go (and already gone!)

The white tree is up. Check. (I really wanted a white tree, and when I got it and put it up, I really liked it. I thought to myself, so that's what it feels like to want something for myself and then get it - humm.)

The wreath is on the door. Check.

Some presents are wrapped. Check.

The tablecloth and napkins are made and in place. Check.

The cards are made, but not sent. Humm. I may not send them, as I don't seem to have the note writing and signing and addressing in me. Humm again.

I am trying to decide what to have for Christmas dinner.

I bought tamales for Christmas eve - one of our parents makes them and sold a dozen for $12. So I got 18 pork and 18 chicken. I ate one of the chicken - it was good! The rest are in the freezer. I am not sure how to reheat them, and I am not sure what to serve with tamales for Christmas Eve dinner. Any suggestions?

Christmas morning will be an egg dish, with canned Ortega chilies and cheese and homemade Cinnabon cinnamon roles, juice and coffee.

Dinner will be either ham (not feeling it), beef of some sort, duck, lasagna, or ???

What are you favorites for Christmas dinner?

Really, I am looking for suggestions. Help a gal out.

While I taking a photo of the tree, I saw the dog bed I just bought, and the dog sleeping next to i. She has not slept on it yet - she has put her head on it and Mildrid has slept on on it - but she has not ventured to get her whole body on it. I snapped it to share with you.

I also caught the chickens on the front porch when I went out the to photo the wreath - so I snapped them to share, too.

Here's to my 2 week vacation!!!! Yay!!!

May you get some time to yourselves, as well!

Nothing Much Happened Today

Meetings, teaching, shopping. Par for the course for the past few days.

I decided to make some Rocky Road Candy to give to a few people at work. So I went to the store and got chocolate chips, marshmallows, nuts, and for my Secret Santa gift I got tequila, tequila mix, tequila salt and a tequila glass. (I am not sure if it is kosher to take alcohol to work when you work at a school - but margaritas are her favorite cold drink - what's a Secret Santa to do?)

I've never made Rocky Road before, and things like candy and baked goods have a 50/50 chance of turning out when I make them. It wasn't hard to mix - and it's in frig setting as I type. We'll see if it's edible (but how can you go wrong with chocolate, marshmallows and nuts?).

This is what the Rocky Road should look like:

This is what mine looks like:

It doesn't taste too bad, so I think it'll work.

And here is my Secret Santa gift.

All the needed items for a margarita - with Hold See looking on

The tequila in a brown paper wrapper (with skull & cross bones)

In the gift basket

In the gift bag

Another day done. Good night!

Tuesday -Ho Hum

Today I wore my Santa hat to school.

Here I am in my Santa hat.

Hum.

I ate potato chips and broccoli for dinner.

My husband sprained his ankle at work and is home for a week. On vicodin.

Hum.

But I do have something exciting to share - Mildrid is ready for me to share their myspace space. So here it is Mildrid Music on myspace.

Way more than hum.

Moday is the first day of my week

I lost my prescription tri-focal glasses in the power outage last week, and I have been wearing old reading glasses (+225), which did not have the power I needed.

I found a pair of glasses at the grocery store, the right strength (+275), but they were $19.95. Too much for a single pair of reading glasses, especially since you can get a pair at the Dollar Tree for a dollar. Granted $1.00 glasses fall apart quickly - but sheesh - $20.00 for a pair of glasses that I will soon lose is too much moolah.

So today after work (work work work!) I went to Costco and got 3 pair of reading glasses for $18.00.

(That's not really them, but they do have some fun looking glasses there.)

They are a better quality that Dollar Tree, come with their own individual storage bag cleaning cloths and three pair might get me to next Christmas (yeah, right!), when I can get another pair of glasses on the VSP insurance plan.

So I have another year of wearing my glasses at the end of my nose and looking down and up at people at the same time.

I also got 10 pound of potatoes, 8 pounds of onions, 3 different kinds of berries, 12 containers of floss, three cartons of Silk, 3 pounds of broccoli and salad.

Oh and potato chips. Which I so needed.

Not!

Ahhh, the joys of Costco consumption. Wait, isn't that a Victorian disease? Oh please! Now I have the vapors!

We Had Snow and the World Stopped

I live in the foothills of Northern California. We get occasional dustings of snow, but nothing that even comes close to sticking, until last Monday, that is.

The snow caused the power to go out. The power going out causes everything here at Casa de Refugio to quit. No water, no heat, no internet, no coffee, no shower, no nothing.

I was HORRIFIED at my dependency upon power. I would have thought that I would live a fine life without electricity. Gotta have running water, but I'm okay without power. Or so I thought. And maybe if I had a wood burning stove or even a fireplace, and a way to get running water without electricity, it might really be true.

Anyway, here at the Casa without power, things went from a winter wonderland

to kinda horrifying (how could I be so dependent upon fossil fuel for every aspect of my life?) to downright cold and dark.

So, at about 7 at night, I got a room at the local Motel 6. Packed up Joe-Ash and Hold See and his roomate met us up there. A lovely warm room, with power and running water Whoo Who!

And guess what happened? Uh huh! The power went out! Indeed!

Turned out PG&E took the power away from Motel 6 and re-directed it to our house, in that we discovered that the electricity was back on at the Casa! Whoo Who again and a lovely drive back home, where heat and TV was enjoyed by all!

Cute Kitty

Joy to the World!

I miss you guys, but I have no time!

Work sure gets in the way of life - but on the other hand - I am very glad to have it and it is almost my lifetime dream occupation - short of being a millionaire - which reminds me - Once I asked Dandu what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said a millionaire and I asked him what he was going to do to make the money and he got the strangest look on his face. He had no idea you had to do something to be a millionaire!

And there you have it!

Kisses.

Dog Friday on This Blog -Formerly Dog Blog Friday

Random Crazy dobie facts:

I used to have a black dobie.

A couple of dobies ran after Hold See and one nipped him on the back of the leg.

This dobie is racing in a Purina Dog Food Race, advertised all over the internet.

I think it is cute how bendie this guy is - so here he is for your Friday enjoyment!

Viola!

All Roads Lead to Me (In My Mind)

The path right outside my door.

Same path continuing on out.

The path as it goes on in front of the 2nd grade rooms.

Looking on down the path to my room - the white building in the background.

The path out to Resource - Speech is done! And it is beautiful.

All that complaining - and here it is - great!

I think I just needed a little forewarning - so a word to you managers out there - let your people know before any major construction begins. Assure them it will be beautiful when it is done!

Even our welcome to rodents door has been closed!

The white door has been added to the base of the ramp up to my side of the room. Poor little Minnie and Manny Skunk will have to find another place to get it on.

YouTube - Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On live in Montreux 1980

Here's hoping you're having a great life! To borrow a phrase from a blogging (I hope) friend - I love you sons of bitches!

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Yesterday my husband and I went to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park.

It is an annual free event in Golden Gate Park - the bill is footed by Warren Hellman. It is amazing that people have that much money. (Not that I resent the use of his money - very generous on his part - but I am amazed that people can have that much money!)

This was a picture opportunity on the way there (bathroom stop - very gross bathroom - I've got pics if you want to see).

Golden Gate Bridge as seen from the Marin Headlands

When we got there and found a staging area (way off to the side between stages), my husband took a nap.

Crazy 4's husband taking a nap at 2009's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

While my husband was napping, I went wandering and found Steve Earle and others singing Woody Guthrie songs. After it was over, I kept my eye on Steve and got this shot.

Steve Earle talking to back stage fans

After his nap, I showed my husband a good place to be for the Richie Havens' show.

Peace flag flying over a Richie Havens (side) crowd

There were lots of interesting characters. People were mostly either in their 20s or 50s. There was a group of yoot who were on some sort of drugs and were out of their minds. I sincerely doubt the Ananda girl and I were ever like this!

Freaky freaks enjoying the freedom that the US offers

This picture does not capture the weirdness. They were crazy, rolling around, and almost scary. A large group of people gathered to watch and take photos. I am sure those girls are wondering today why they have so many leaves and twigs in their hair.

The final show of our night was Steve Earle and The Bluegrass Dukes. I found a side way up to the stage and we had a front row view. I was ever so happy when he played Jerusalem.

Steve Earle on the Banjo Stage

It was a tiring day. Long gone are the days when I could sit, stand and walk for hour upon hour and then sleep on the ground. Long gone! I was ever so happy to sleep in my own bed, and even still I am in pain today!

Dandu and Toothy are there today.

It is a wonderful world that we live in.

Have a great new week my buddies!

A Dream Like State

From 1990-1993 we had a foster son. He came to us when he was 3 days old and left when he was 3 years and 2 months.

He got adopted by the Huxtables.

At the time I was a stay at home home schooling mom. I loved little Louis. But he was so much better off going with the Huxtables.

When his new mom called to tell me that the judge said he could finally go live with them, I burst into tears and said, "He's my baby." We got to keep him one more week.

Then his dad came and picked him up. I said to my little Louis, "Your new family is here to take you home." Louis ran down the hall screaming, "No!"

Off he went and they took really good care of him and gave him a really good life. We saw him twice after that. He was talking and having a great time.

I wrote to his family about 10 years ago, giving them our new address, but I have not heard from them.

I did my best with Louis, but it wasn't that great. He got bangs and bumps and cuts and scrapes. He was little and he did not talk (like many born drug addicted children). I am sure however he grew up into a wonderful man.

But the Louis of my dreams is still 3 years old, little, not totally potty trained and not talking much.

It is a re-occurring dream. He is little and I haven't been taking care of him. I need to take care of him. I am so ashamed that I haven't and I am afraid that I will get in trouble with the authorities because I haven't been taking care of him.

Sometimes Joe-Ash dreams about him, too.

So what's that about? I had the dream again last night. It has haunted me today.

What am I not doing that I should?

What part of me is being forgotten and not nourished?

I don't know.

Can you help?